30th Anniversary Guardians Commemorative Book - Book - Page 167
ENDING
PERSECUTION
We believe that
remembering and
learning from what
happened during the
Holocaust is critical to our future
and the world’s future. We must learn
from both history and past mistakes
what the disastrous results can be
if people just stand by. And, as the
number of survivors and veterans of
World War II diminishes every day,
we have to guard against letting the
lessons learned disappear as well.
We view the mission of the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum
as twofold: The first is to continue
the amazing job they do researching
history. Recently, the Museum
has documented the existence of
some 42,000 camps and ghettos
throughout Nazi-dominated
Europe—a stunning number even
to dedicated Holocaust scholars.
That stellar work clearly needs to
continue. The second part of that
mission is equally important: to
educate people about history in
order to prevent genocide. That
is why we support the Museum
through annual giving and will
continue to support it after our
passing with our legacy gift.
The Museum’s historical work is not
solely related to past generations, nor
is it only a Jewish issue. The Museum
is also a tool to educate people on
what went and will go wrong if we
do not act to ensure a better world
in the future. The Museum must
remain equipped to address the
plight of people who are persecuted
in any corner of the globe. In fact,
we believe the message of ending
prejudice and discrimination needs
to be perpetually communicated and
preserved, almost like a time capsule.
That concern is one of our primary
reasons for staying involved,
providing support, and making the
Museum a part of our lives now and
after we are gone. It is that important
to us. We are responsible for the
delivery of the message and the
assurance that this does not happen
again and is not forgotten.”
SAFEGUARDING TRUTH FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS l 165
